LAUREL, MS (WDAM) - Workers at Wayne Farms in Laurel had to be evacuated from the facility after an equipment failure led to an ammonia leak late Sunday night, according to Jones County EMA Executive Director Paul Sheffield.

Sheffield said medical teams were called to the processing facility to check out workers who may have been exposed to the hazardous gas.

According to Sheffield, Wayne Farms followed proper safety protocol after the equipment failure. He said officials were going through the facility around midnight to make sure it was safe for workers to reenter the building.

Sheffield said a portion of Interstate 59 near the facility was shut down for 30 to 40 minutes during the initial response to the gas leak. All lanes of the interstate have since reopened.